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Monday, November 5, 2012

The ATMM Conference At Bilkent University

ATMM Organizers, Bilkent Univerisity

Last week I was extremely pleased to be part of the Audio Technologies for Music and Media (ATMM) conference at Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey. Having never been to Turkey before, I can only say that it was a wonderful experience in almost every way. Turkey is a beautiful country with an extremely rich heritage, and its people are friendly and hospitable beyond compare.

I opened the conference with a keynote presentation called "The Music Business Is Not Dying" which looks at the current state of the music business and the 3 keys of how the student of today can prepare for a place in it. The conference (the very first of its kind at the university) then went on to provide a number of fascinating presentations, panels and papers on everything from real time improvisation via a computer environment to soundscapes triggered by EEG waves to the three technologies that have radically altered music, and many more that can be mentioned here. I enjoyed each and every one and congratulate their presenters.

Working out a song with the band

I then closed the session with a "Modern Record Production Techniques" presentation that looks at some of the frequently overlooked parts of record production, then included a workshop where I demonstrated some music production techniques with a live band.

Although I'm severely jet-lagged thanks to the 30 hour trip home (complete with 5 security checks and two bag searches), I'm coherent enough to know that this was clearly one of the best experiences I've ever had. Every college and university treats me well when I speak, but Bilkent went above and beyond any expectations I had beforehand.

Modern Production Techniques Presentation

In no specific order, thanks to Ufuk Onen for arranging that I speak at the conference and being my champion there. Thanks to Ahmet Gurata, Teoman Pasinlioglu and Bulent Biyikoglu for your help and support, especially with the power adapter that I so desperately needed to do my thing. And finally, many, many thanks to Mustafa Ertan for being the world's best tour guy, with driving skills worthy of a Grand Pres driver. Your hospitality will be forever appreciated.

I have a number of presentations of "Social Media For Musicians and Engineers" coming up at a number of schools. If you'd like me to speak at your school, college or university on any of the above subjects, or provide a master class or workshop, feel free to contact me.